Photovoltaic solar panels have been developed to convert sunlight directly into electrical energy. Photovoltaic solar panels are effective whenever they are exposed to direct sunlight, even in cold climates. Unfortunately, photovoltaic solar panels do not generate much electricity when they are covered with snow or ice. Therefore, in cold climates, the overall efficiency of solar panels is reduced due to the fact that snow and ice accumulates on top of the solar panels. To become effective, the layer of snow and ice overburdening the solar panel must be cleared, either by scrapping (or sweeping) the snow away or by melting. Melting the snow and ice overburden can be achieved by heating the solar panels sufficiently to melt away all of the snow and ice; however, given the amount of energy required to do this, the overall gain in efficiency is very low. U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,963 to Bond Jr. discloses the use of electric heating elements placed directly on top of photovoltaic cells to help melt away any accumulated snow and ice. However, such a design has a very low overall efficiency because a large amount of electrical energy is required to heat the photovoltaic cells sufficiently to melt the snow and ice. What is therefore required is an energy efficient way of clearing snow and ice from solar panels.